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<title>Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Teaching Curve by Navek</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22632985">Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Teaching Curve</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navek/pseuds/Navek'>Navek</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh! GX</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 10:00:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,083</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22632985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navek/pseuds/Navek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Robert Marti is a Mathematics professor with a mission; to uncover all the secrets of Duel Academy. He'll have to contend with outlandish students, his fellow teachers, and all manner of strange phenomena. Will he uncover the truth? And will his love for dueling be reignited? Read on to find out!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Teaching Curve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b> <em>Domino City…</em> </b>
</p><p> </p><p>Inside the Duel Academy-owned arena, several entrance exam duels were taking place. While the previously-given written exam served as a test of the applicants’ educational merits, the entrance duels would determine their skills and ingenuity when it came to Duel Monsters. The students would duel a teacher who served as a proctor. </p><p> </p><p>One of these proctors was a man in his mid-twenties with green eyes and long black hair tied in a ponytail. He was of Spanish descent with stubble on his chin, clad in the standard purple proctor outfit. And as he waited for the examinee to arrive on the duel field, only one thought occupied his mind. </p><p> </p><p>‘Why are these things so freakin’ hot?!’ He thought as he pulled his shirt forward, letting some air in. ‘How do those Obelisk freshmen handle this?’</p><p> </p><p>Soon enough, the examinee arrived. He was half-caucasian, half-Japanese with black eyes and slicked-back black hair that flushed slightly to the left. His outfit consisted of a white &amp; silver school jacket and pants, no doubt from his middle school. </p><p> </p><p>“You must be Bastion Misawa,” the proctor said as he shook the teen’s hand. “The name’s Robert Marti, and I’ll be your proctor. The staff’s been buzzin’ about your written test scores. Good job, man.” </p><p> </p><p>“Why thank you,” Bastion replied, revealing his posh British accent. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Marti. And let me assure you, I plan on acing his duel as well.” </p><p> </p><p>The proctor gave a friendly smirk. “We’ll see about that.” </p><p> </p><p>The two moved towards separate ends of the duel field before both of them pulled out curved computer pads from their jackets, Bastion’s being grey and the proctor’s being emerald. They then placed the pads on their left arms and attached deck slots with sleeved cards onto it. Both pad screens shined as five monster slots shot out from them and unfolded. </p><p> </p><p><em> “D-Pad, Set!” </em>Both duelists proclaimed before placing Duel Gazers over their right eyes, the proctor’s was black with a green lens and Bastion’s was grey with a blue lens. </p><p> </p><p><em> “D-Gazer, Set!” </em>The two proclaimed as their gazers glowed. In a matter of seconds, a stream of data flowed out from the D-Pads, coating the area around them in Augmented Reality Data. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> AR Vision; Link Complete.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The decks were automatically shuffled by the deck slots and the two drew opening five cards. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Let’s Duel!” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 8000</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Bastion: 8000</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“It’s custom for the examinee to go first,” Robert explained. “So show me what you got, Misawa.” </p><p> </p><p>“With pleasure,” Bastion replied as he drew his first card. “I’ll set a monster and three cards face-down.” As he placed the cards on and inside his pad, Bastion studied his proctor’s face for a reaction. “That’s it for now.” </p><p> </p><p>‘Playing it safe to start, eh?’ Robert thought as he drew. ‘Not a bad strategy, but you can’t stay behind your walls forever.’</p><p> </p><p> “I activate the spell card, <em> Reinforcement of the Army, </em>which lets me add a level 4 or lower Warrior type monster from my deck to my hand.” </p><p> </p><p>With a tap on the D-Pad, a single sleeved black card slid out from the proctor’s deck and he added it to his hand. “And I’m gonna summon him right away. Come on out, <em> Marauding Captain!” </em></p><p> </p><p>A scarred blond warrior clad in steel blue armor appeared on the front of the proctor, swinging his two swords. <b>(LV. 3/ATK: 1200)</b></p><p> </p><p>“And when <em> Marauding Captain </em> is normal summoned, I get to summon a Level 4 or lower Warrior monster from my hand. So here’s another captain!” </p><p> </p><p>An identical copy of the warrior appeared next to him. <b>(LV. 3/ATK: 1200)</b></p><p> </p><p>“So you’re starting off with a monster lock,” Bastion stated, referring to Marauding Captian’s other effect. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it should be easy for any duelist to overcome,” Robert said before placing another card into the Spell/Trap slot on the D-Pad. “I cast <em> Twin Twisters, </em>discarding a card from my hand to destroy up to two of your spell or trap cards.” </p><p> </p><p>The proctor discarded a card from his hand as two twisters shot out from his field, destroying two of Bastion’s set cards, <em> Magic Cylinder </em> and <em> Inferno Reckless Summon </em>respectively. </p><p> </p><p>“Next, I equip one of my captains with <em> United We Stand, </em>boosting its ATK by 800 for each of my face-up monsters!” </p><p> </p><p>A golden aura appeared around the Marauding Captain on Robert’s right. <b>(ATK: 1200 -&gt; 2800)</b></p><p> </p><p>“I’ll have my stronger captain attack your set monster!” The glowing warrior charged ahead. The set monster flipped face-up, revealing itself to be a green turtle with a UFO for a shell. <b>(LV. 4/DEF: 1200) </b>The swordsman roared as slashed the enemy monster as it disbursed into pixels. </p><p> </p><p>“My <em> UFO Turtle’s </em> effect now activates, letting me special summon a FIRE monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck in attack mode,” Bastion explained as he grabbed the selected card and slapped it on a monster zone. “Say hello to <em> Solar Flare Dragon!”  </em></p><p> </p><p>A serpentine dragon made of fire and lava roared onto the field. <b>(LV. 4/ATK: 1500) </b> “And I’ll chain this summoning with my set quick-play spell; a second <em> Inferno Reckless Summon. </em>When a monster with 1500 or less ATK is special summoned to my field while my opponent controls a monster, I can special summon as many copies of that monster from my deck, hand or graveyard in attack mode. And you get to do the same for one monster you control.” </p><p> </p><p>Two more copies of Solar Flare Dragon appeared on Bastion’s field while a third Marauding Captain appeared on the proctor’s field, increasing the UWS-equipped captain’s ATK. <b>(ATK: 2800 -&gt; 3600)</b></p><p> </p><p>‘So now we both got a monster lock in play,’ Robert thought to himself. Both Marauding Captain and Solar Flare Dragon had similar effects where the opponent couldn’t attack a monster of the same type. Having two or more monsters with similar effects meant that an opposing monster wouldn’t be able to attack either monster. “I’ll end my turn here.” </p><p> </p><p>Bastion simply hmphed as he drew his next card. “I’ll simply set a face-down. And during my end phase, each of my Solar Flare Dragons inflicts 500 points of damage.” </p><p> </p><p>The three lava dragons roared before unleashing three streams of fire at the proctor. Despite knowing the oncoming fire was just AR, the proctor guarded himself with his arms out of sheer instinct. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 8000 -&gt; 6500</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Looks like first blood goes to you, kid,” the proctor said as he drew. “But don’t get too comfy with that monster lock. Because I’m tributing one of your Solar Flare Dragons to special summon <em> Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju </em>to your side of the field.” </p><p> </p><p>The central lava dragon disappeared into pixels as a large blue turtle monster appeared on Bastion’s field. <b>(LV. 8/ATK: 2200)</b></p><p> </p><p>“I’ll continue by summonin’ <em> Command Knight!” </em> The ponytail-wearing duelist proclaimed as a blonde female knight with red armor, a shield and sword appeared next to the three Marauding Captains. <b>(LV. 4/ATK: 1200) </b>“And she boosts all of my warrior monsters with an extra 400 ATK.” </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>(LV. 4/ATK: 1200 -&gt; 1600) (LV. 3/ATK: 1200) x2 (LV. 3/ATK: 3600 -&gt; 4000)</b>
</p><p> </p><p>And another monster on the field boosted the <em> Marauding Captain </em> equipped with United We Stand. <b>(LV. 3/ATK: 4000 -&gt; 4800)</b></p><p> </p><p>“Since you have a non-pyro monster, I can attack Gameciel with my boosted Captain,” the proctor explained as the UWS-boosted Captain leaped at the large sea turtle, beheading the creature and turning it into pixels. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Bastion: 8000 -&gt; 5400</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll end it for now.” Despite the massive damage, Bastion was unperturbed as he drew his next card. And when he saw it, he smirked. </p><p> </p><p>“That was an impressive counter, wise proctor. But my winning board is about to be assembled,” the British teen proclaimed. “First, I activate the continuous spell card, <em> Dark Room of Nightmare. </em> Now every time you take effect damage, you suffer an additional 300 damage. Next, I play <em> Terraforming, </em>letting me add a field spell card from my deck to my hand.” </p><p> </p><p>After adding the card to his hand, Bastion immediately slid it into his D-Pad. “And now I activate the field spell <em>Fusion Gate.</em>” A green grid pattern appeared behind the black-haired duelist as he continued to explain. “This field spell allows me to fusion summon monsters by banishing materials from my hand and field. Or at least that would be the case if it wasn’t for my trap card: <em>Chain Material!” </em>Bastion stated as his face-down card flipped up. “Now whenever I fusion summon this turn, I can use monsters from my deck as fusion materials. However, I can’t attack this turn and the fusion monsters are destroyed during the end phase.” </p><p> </p><p>The black-haired teen then took out two monsters from his deck. “Time for my stratagem! I fuse <em> Cyber Valley </em> and <em> Volcanic Shell </em> from my deck!” Two worm-like monsters appeared above Bastion, one cybernetic and one organic with a large beak. The two monsters then turned into red and green lights and flew into the Fusion Gate behind Bastion, creating a multi-colored swirl of energy. “I Fusion Summon <em> Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird!” </em></p><p> </p><p>A creature of orange fire and dark armor emerged from the swirl, its fiery wings blazin’ as it let out a roar. <b>(LV. 8/ATK: 2800)</b></p><p> </p><p>“Now, I use Blaze Fenix’s effect; Once per turn, it can inflict 300 damage to my opponent at the cost of its attack for the turn. But since Chain Material already got rid of that, it’s no great loss,” Bastion explained as his monster pelted the proctor with fiery feathers, amplified by the Dark Room of Nightmare. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 6500 -&gt; 5900</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“And my Fusion Gate isn’t once per turn, so I’ll fuse another set of Cyber Valley and Volcanic Shell to fusion summon another Blaze Fenix!” </p><p> </p><p>Indeed, the process was repeated and another Blaze Fenix arrived on Bastion’s field. <b>(LV. 8/ATK: 2800) </b>And like before, Bastion used the second Fenix’s effect. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 5900 -&gt; 5300</b>
</p><p> </p><p>But the black-haired brit wasn’t done yet, and used his final pair of Cyber Valley and Volcanic Shell to fusion summon another Blaze Fenix <b>(LV. 8/ATK: 2800) </b>and used its effect. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 5300 -&gt; 4800</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll then set a card. And during my end phase, my Blaze Fenixs are destroyed and my Solar Flare Dragons deal you effect damage.” </p><p> </p><p>Just as Bastion said, the three fusion disintegrated while the Solar Flare Dragons unleashed their fire on the Proctor. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 4800 -&gt; 3200</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“Impressive play, kid. But let’s see if you can stick the landing,” the black-haired man said as he drew his next card. “I activate the spell card, <em> Interrupted Kaiju Slumber!” </em>As soon as he played that card, the ground beneath the two duelists and their monsters began to shake. </p><p> </p><p>“This card destroys as many monsters on the field as possible, and then I can special summon 1 ‘Kaiju’ monster to each side of the field in attack mode. So I’ll summon another Gameciel to your side of the field while <em> Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju </em>is summoned to my side!”</p><p> </p><p>The ground erupted from under both player’s monsters, destroying them as the two Kaiju monsters appeared. On Bastion side was another Gameciel <b>(LV. 8/ATK: 2200) </b> while a massive flaming dinosaur-like monster with wings appeared on the proctor’s field. <b>(LV. 8/ATK: 3000)</b></p><p> </p><p>Bastion, rather than be discouraged or become distraught, simply smirked at his proctor. “Impressive play, sir. But I’m afraid I’ll have to end it here.” </p><p> </p><p>Robert raised an eyebrow before he looked at Bastion’s D-Pad and then it clicked. “Your set card?” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s right! I activate my trap card, <em> Ring of Destruction!” </em>Bastion proclaimed as his trap flipped up. “Now, I can destroy your monsters with ATK equal to or less than your current life points. I’ll take damage equal its original ATK, but you’ll take it as well afterward.” </p><p> </p><p>A large ring with grenades on it appeared on Dogoran’s neck. The creature struggled to get it off, only for the pins on the grenades to go off, blowing the creature to smithereens. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Bastion: 5400 -&gt; 2400</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 3200 -&gt; 200</b>
</p><p> </p><p>“And since you just suffered effect damage…” </p><p> </p><p>“Dark Room of Nightmare deals me an extra 300.” The proctor said with a smile, even as a red aura drained him of his last life points. </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Robert: 200 -&gt; 0</b>
</p><p> </p><p><b>Bastion: WINNER!</b> <b><br/><br/></b></p><p>The Augmented Reality faded, returning the duel field to normal as the two duelists shook hands. </p><p> </p><p>“You passed, kid. Welcome to Duel Academy.” </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, sir,” Bastion said with a humble tone. “It was a pleasure and honor to duel you today.”</p><p> </p><p>“Looks like we’ll be seeing each other more often then.” </p><p> </p><p>“Pardon?” </p><p> </p><p>“Well you see, some of us proctors are actually teachers at the school.” </p><p> </p><p>“Ah. And which teacher are you?” </p><p> </p><p>“You’re looking at Duel Academy’s new Mathematics Professor. These kids need to know more than just addition and subtraction when you graduate.” Robert said before turning and walking out of the duel arena. “I’ll be lookin’ forward to seeing you on campus, Bastion.” </p><p> </p><p>“Same here, Professor Marti.” Bastion replied as he left as well. </p><p> </p><p>Robert returned to the stands and watched the remaining entrance duels take place. And alongside Bastion, there was a promising batch of kids this year. A rich kid named Chazz completely overwhelmed his opponent with his ace fusion monster. A girl called Alexis played with calm, tactical precision as she used her ritual monsters to win her the game. </p><p> </p><p>But there were also some less than stellar performances, with one kid named Syrus winning because of a lucky-timed Magic Cylinder.  </p><p> </p><p>Soon, the last exam duel for the day began between Professor Crowler and a kid named Jaden Yuki. And Robert only had one thought when he saw the kid. </p><p> </p><p>‘Why does his hair look like a Kuriboh?’ The black-haired man thought. </p><p> </p><p>“Never figured Crowler would duel an examinee.” Robert turned and saw a red-haired woman with blue eyes taking a seat next to him. She was wearing a cute princess-style purple dress with a matching headband, white gloves, a black dance shoes. </p><p> </p><p>“You really wore your dress to give an examination?” Robert asked with a raised eyebrow. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course. I wasn’t going to wear that stuffy ensemble,” the woman replied with a smile. Robert pulled his coat, silently agreeing with her. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, you got me there, Cecilia,” the green-eyed man said before turning his attention to the duel between Crowler and Jaden. Robert honestly liked Crowler. Yes, he was over-the-top and petty sometimes, but he was an excellent teacher. “So why is Crowler even duelin’ the kid?” </p><p> </p><p>“Apparently, this Yuki kid mistook Crowler for a woman when he was signing in.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, shit,” Robert said with a sweatdrop. If there was one thing that could set the blond professor off, it was calling him a woman. But as the duel began, it was clear and even though Crowler was using his Ancient Gear deck, although it appeared to be a weaker variant of his normal deck. Meanwhile, this Jaden kid used an Elemental Hero deck…but it seemed to be based on the normal Elemental Heroes. </p><p> </p><p>And while Crowler managed to summon a copy of Ancient Gear Golem during his first turn, Jaden was able to hold on until he managed fusion summon a monster called Elemental Hero Flame Wingman. And in combination with the archetype-specific field spell Skyscraper, Jaden’s Wingman was able to destroy Crowler’s Golem. </p><p> </p><p>But it was after that turn that Crowler suffered through a duelist’s greatest fear; bricking their hand AKA drawing a bad hand. And with the professor unable to do anything, Jaden was able to win his duel. </p><p> </p><p>And so, the entrance exams were over for the day, and everyone soon went home. In particular, Robert went back to his apartment. After changing into his sleepwear (a black t-shirt and sweatpants), Robert pulled out his phone and dialed a number. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s me. In the next month, I can finally begin my investigation. Yes, I’ll report anything I find back to you. Don’t worry, I’ll find your kids.” </p><p> </p><p>For the last six months, the staff of Duel Academy knew him was Robert Marti, a young Mathematics professor with a snarky disposition. But in reality, he was Gerard Reyes, an investigative journalist. </p><p> </p><p>A year and a half ago, Gerard was approached by a group of concerned parents. According to them, all their kids had seemingly gone missing after attending Duel Academy. And since they couldn’t get any information out of the Academy Staff, they decided to hire him to find their kids. </p><p> </p><p>And this was a mission Gerard would complete no matter what. Even if he had to lie to everyone on that island. Even if he had to play a game he hated. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> To be continued… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Author’s Note: Once more unto the breach. That breach being a universe where life or death matters are decided via a Children’s Card Game. </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>While my last two forays into the YGO world have related to 5Ds, I think I figured out why those never went anywhere. 5Ds is a solid series (a few elements notwithstanding), so I ended up a bit limited in my writing as I tried to keep the story mostly the same. And with stories like the Fairy Mythos Series, I realized that I do better writing a series by creating my own story beats. </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>And no YGO series is in need of reworking than GX. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of stuff I like about GX, but you can’t deny that a lot of the times, it felt like the writers didn’t have any planning in mind. </b>
</p><p> </p><p><b>Why GX and why now? Well, two things; Yung Warrior’s fanfic </b> <b> <em>State of the Meta </em> </b> <b>(which you should all read) and Little Kuriboh’s series where he watches each episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Aside from being really funny, it does highlight some of the flaws in that series. </b></p><p> </p><p>
  <b>This story is also gonna let me experiment with a different type of character; The O.C. Stand-in. That’s right, Richard Marti AKA Gerard Reyes is not a total OC. GX viewers will probably recognize him as the reporter guy who appeared in Jaden and Bastion’s Two-Part duel in Season 1. It’ll be a different experience working with a character not that well-defined. </b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>And just to clarify, Chazz and Alexis taking the entrance exams isn’t a mistake, they will be first year students along with Bastion, Jaden, and Syrus in this AU.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Next Time: Welcome to Duel Academy.</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>See ya next time!</b>
</p>
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